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In San Francisco, California—where the Latino community and its restaurants shape much of the culinary landscape—Nicaraguan chef of Chinese descent Armando José Tam has found his purpose: bringing Nicaraguan and Latin flavors to tables that had never even heard of Nicaragua.
Now 50 years old, with a life story that connects Rivas, Nicaragua, to the San Francisco Bay Area, Tam has become an ambassador for Latin cuisine, presenting it in what he calls “unexpected” ways through pop-up shows—temporary culinary events where he takes over restaurant kitchens to present his dishes.
Beyond cooking, his specialty is “surprising and elevating perceptions of Latin American gastronomy” through what he prefers to call “combinations” rather than “fusions.”
His passion for the culinary world runs in the family. In 1955, his grandparents opened the restaurant Chop Suey in Rivas, and Tam recalls that his entire family worked in the business—a tradition they maintained even after emigrating to the United States in 1980, before the Nicaraguan civil war.
Despite moving to another country, his childhood in the United States was marked by weekends selling nacatamale, like “every Nicaraguan” trying to keep their roots alive, while his father worked in maintenance and construction.
It was his mother who passed down the recipes and techniques that now define his cooking. “My mom and dad worked in the United States, retired, and later returned to Nicaragua. Before they went back, I told her, ‘Mom, teach me the dishes I love: how to make vaho, how to prepare nacatamales, the dough, how to wrap them, everything, including salpicón,’” he recalls.
Those traditional recipes would become the foundation of his cuisine, but with a distinctive twist: “I used the techniques I learned in the United States with the traditional flavors of Nicaragua,” he says.
Armando Tam’s “combinations”
“I learned from chef Douglas Rodríguez, who is the king of Latin cuisine in the United States. He’s Cuban, but I remember he had Nicaraguan cooks. I saw his menu in New York and noticed Nicaraguan vigorón, and I said, ‘Wow.’ Seeing that dish in New York, in an upscale place, inspired me,” he recalls.
That inspiration led him to create his own events. “I started doing pop-ups because I didn’t want to work in the traditional restaurant industry,” the Nicaraguan chef says. Pop-ups allowed him to present Nicaraguan cuisine to a different audience, mainly foreigners who had never tried the country’s flavors.
“I don’t like the word fusion; I prefer the word combination, even though they sound similar. Fusion usually means a chef goes to two countries and tries to force something together. I don’t think in terms of food, I think in terms of flavors,” he explains.
One of his most emblematic combinations is Chinese-style vigorón: “I keep the cassava and the salad, but instead of Nicaraguan chicharrón, I use Chinese fried pork,” he says.
Other creations include fried rice with roast pork and churrasco with chimichurri served alongside Cantonese-style fried rice.
“I see things as flavors, not tradition,” says the chef from Rivas. That perspective has allowed him to create dishes such as “fried cheese with Vietnamese peanut sauce” or “gallo pinto served over cooked banana leaves,” designed to transport diners directly to Granada.
Pop-up shows bring Latin cuisine to new audiences
Culinary pop-ups are temporary appearances where chefs offer unique, short-lived dining experiences in specific locations. The Nicaraguan chef held his first pop-up in 2017.
“About 80 foreigners trying Nicaraguan food and Chinese food for the first time. That was my first pop-up,” he recalls. Since then, his events have drawn up to 300 people each month.
“Why do I do pop-ups? I help businesses by hosting them on days when they’re closed. I organize the event, handle the marketing, and through the food I can introduce people to new flavors,” Tam explains.
“My goal is to cook in San Francisco for different clients who don’t know Nicaragua, so they can taste its flavors, no matter what they’re combined with,” he says.
The chef has also written the book It’s a Vibe: A Food & Wine Experience, which tells the stories behind his recipes and combinations and celebrates “the culture of the Bay Area” in Northern California.
He also opened a cloud kitchen — a kitchen focused on pickup and delivery — specializing in Nicaraguan grilled dishes. The business is located in Oakland, a city east of San Francisco.
The forces behind Chef Tam
Behind every dish Armando Tam prepares are the lessons he learned from his parents. “My father taught me humility. He’s the best father in the world,” he says proudly. His father, a karate practitioner and former Nicaraguan firefighter, often repeated a phrase to him: “I don’t care how much money you make. What I want is for you to be humble.”
His mother, meanwhile, gave him the tools of the trade. “She is the strongest woman in the world. I’m strong, but she’s twice as strong,” he says. From waking him up early on weekends to prepare nacatamales to teaching him discipline and the value of hard work, she helped shape both the man and the cook he is today.
When asked about the essential Nicaraguan ingredients in his kitchen, he doesn’t hesitate: “For me, achiote — because I love roast pork,” he replies.
And like many Nicaraguans, he always keeps his freezer stocked: “I keep Ziploc bags of red beans frozen. I thaw them, make gallo pinto, or cook bean soup,” he shares. His favorite dish is salpicón.
